英語(yǔ)閱讀二201310

1、絕密 考試結(jié)束前全國(guó)2013年10月高等教育自學(xué)考試英語(yǔ)閱讀(二)試題課程代碼：00596請(qǐng)考生按規(guī)定用筆將所有試題的答案涂、寫(xiě)在答題紙上。選擇題部分注意事項(xiàng)：1. 答題前，考生務(wù)必將自己的考試課程名稱、姓名、準(zhǔn)考證號(hào)用黑色字跡的簽字筆或鋼筆填寫(xiě)在答題紙規(guī)定的位置上。2. 每小題選出答案后，用2B鉛筆把答題紙上對(duì)應(yīng)題目的答案標(biāo)號(hào)涂黑。如需改動(dòng)，用橡皮擦干凈后，再選涂其他答案標(biāo)號(hào)。不能答在試題卷上。I. Reading Comprehension (50 points, 2 points for each)Directions: In this part of the test, there a

2、re five passages. Following each passage, there are five questions with four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the best answer and then blacken the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet.Passage One Computers should be in the schools. They have the potential to accomplish great things. With the

3、 right software, they could help make science tangible or teach neglected topics like art and music. They could help students form a concrete idea of society by displaying on screen a version of the city in which they live a picture that tracks real life moment by moment. In practice, however, compu

4、ters make our worst educational nightmares come true. While we bemoan the decline of literacy, computers discount words in favor of pictures and pictures in favor of video. While we fret about the decreasing cogency of public debate, computers dismiss linear argument and promote fast, shallow romps

5、across the information landscape. While we worry about basic skills, we allow into the classroom software that will do a students arithmetic or correct his spelling. Take multimedia. The idea of multimedia is to combine text, sound and pictures in a single package that you browse on screen. You dont

6、 just read Shakespeare; you watch actors performing, listen to songs, view Elizabethan buildings. Whats wrong with that? By offering children candycoated books, multimedia is guaranteed to sour them on unsweetened reading. It makes the printed page look even more boring than it used to look. Sure, b

7、ooks will be available in the classroom, toobut theyll have all the appeal of a dusty piano to a teen who has a Walkman handy. So what if the little nippers dont read? If theyre watching Olivier instead, what do they lose? The text, the written word along with all of its attendant pleasures. Besides

8、, a book is more portable than a computer, has a higherresolution display, can be written on and dogeared and is comparatively dirt cheap. Hypermedia, multimedias comrade in the struggle for a brave new classroom, is just as troubling. Its a way of presenting documents on screen without imposing a l

9、inear starttofinish order. Disembodied paragraphs are linked by theme; after reading one about the First World War, for example, you might be able to choose another about the technology of battleships, or the life of Woodrow Wilson, or hemlines on the 20s. This is another cute idea that is good in m

10、inor ways and terrible in major ones. Teaching children to understand the orderly unfolding of a plot or a logical argument is a crucial part of education. Authors dont merely agglomerate paragraphs; they work hard to make the narrative read a certain way, prove a particular point. To turn a book or

11、 a document into hypertext is to invite readers to ignore exactly what counts the story.Questions 15 are based on Passage One.1. The first paragraph is primarily concerned with _. A. picturing in what ways computers can help in schools B. describing how computers make all subjects easier in schools

12、C. showing what computers have accomplished in schools D. examining how computers are being used in schools2. What is the authors attitude towards the software that will do a students arithmetic or correct his spelling? A. Amazed. B. Reserved. C. Interested. D. Disapproval.3. What does the author me

13、an by “unsweetened reading” in Paragraph 3? A. Online reading. B. Difficult reading materials. C. Regular books. D. Serious and sad stories.4. The author mentions Shakespeare in order to _. A. illustrate how multimedia presents information in classroom B. cite one of the most frequently used sources

14、 in schools C. introduce the importance of reading classics D. show how multimedia is integrated in traditional teaching5. Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the author? A. Teaching students to understand logical argument is highly ignored. B. The employment of hypermedia may hurt

15、 students learning process. C. Hypermedia exposes students to too much information. D. Students reading skills have drastically dropped.Passage Two One theory that has gained influence among sociologists is that some members of stigmatized groups, when faced with stressful situations, expect themsel

16、ves to do worse a prophecy that fulfills itself. These expectations, which can occur even in otherwise fair situations such as, say, a standardized test produce stress and threaten cognitive function. The effect is called “stereotype threat,” and AfricanAmericans, girls, even jocks have all been sho

17、wn susceptible to stereotype threat. Now a new study shows that old people are also vulnerable to the phenomenon. Research psychologists recruited 103 volunteers, ages 60 to 82, to perform simple arithmetic and recall tests. The psychologists manipulated about half of the participants into feeling s

18、tereotype threat by telling them that the entire purpose of the tests was “to examine aging effects on memory.” That statement was designed to prime the participants worry that their advanced age would affect their performance. By contrast, participants in the control group were told that the tests

19、had been constructed to correct for any biases that might be associated with age, a white lie imparted to damp down stereotype threat. Those in the first group performed significantly worse on the memory tests than those whose internal stereotypes hadnt been triggered. Interestingly, people between

20、the ages of 60 and 70 were far more susceptible to stereotype threat than those aged 71 to 82. The authors theorize, persuasively, that people who have just entered their seventh decade are more sensitive to stereotype threat than those who have already been considered old for a decade. Remarkably,

21、the power of stereotype threat was enough to overcome true aptitude: even people who generally had good working memories and werent prone to anxiety in short, great testtakers performed worse after being reminded of their age. The power of stereotype is so strong that it can overwhelm many of our ot

22、her traits. But the good news is that you can flip this particular psychological coin on its opposite side: recent research has found that positive stereotype reinforcement may be just as powerful as any negative threat. Indiana University psychologists found that womens performance on math tests di

23、d not suffer as researchers had expected, even when the typical “women are bad at math” stereotype was invoked, as long as a positive stereotype (say, college students are good at math) was presented at the same time. In this case, that means that the aged are likely to have betterfunctioning memori

24、es when they are told, for instance, that older people “have more experience” or “have seen it all before.”Questions 610 are based on Passage Two.6. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. Examples of discriminations. B. The concept of stereotype threat. C. A dominant theory in sociology. D. St

25、ressful situations for the stigmatized.7. The word “vulnerable” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _. A. weak B. incapable C. insecure D. susceptible8. The psychologist used a white lie to _. A. weaken the participants worry B. monitor the participants reaction C. increase the difficulty of the

26、 tests D. correct biases associated with age9. The difference between the participants in their 70s and those in their 60s was _ . A. the former did better on the tests B. the latter were given easier questions C. the latter took the results less seriously D. the former showed more concern about age

27、10. What message does the author intend to convev in the last paragraph? A. Negative stereotypes can be turned into positive ones. B. More should be done to help those discriminated. C. Stereotypes can be used as an advantage. D. Discrimination on campus should be eliminated.Passage Three A good rea

28、der becomes sooner or later a good book buyer. The sooner, the better. Of course, we all read many more books than we have room for in our homes, even if we could afford to buy them all; yet the reading done in a book drawn from a library cannot be so pleasant at the moment nor so permanently useful

29、 as the reading done in our own copy. A book which is worth reading is likely to be read more than once, and at each reading some idea or some statement makes such an impression that we wish to refer to it again. Some readers underline the page as they read, but I find that a page which I have under

30、lined cannot give me so many fresh impressions as one which has no marks on it. If I come on a passage already marked up, I remember the thoughts and feelings which prompted those first markings, and I have them again, with no additions. But a clean page may always give me something new. My habit is

31、 to make my own index of a book as I read. I put down the number of the page and a word or two to identify the thought or the fact which I get from it. On a second or third reading I am likely to double or triple the size of this index. This is my substitute for underlining. Most of the books in my

32、library are so indexed that I can find quickly the passage which from time to time I wish to look up. To use a book in this way, organizing it for continued usefulness year after year, we must, of course, do our reading in a copy which belongs to us. If a reader were wealthy enough, he could buy his

33、 books always in new and expensive edition, with only best paper and in the kind of binding he prefers. I never could afford such luxury, and I have known few serious and devoted readers who could. The books I buy are chiefly those of less expensive editions. In the last few years a new convenience

34、and economy has come to the American bookbuying public: the twentyfivecent book now widely available at newsstands, drugstores, etc. Bantam books, Signet books, and Pocket books together offer many hundred different titles of more or less respectable literary merits. These inexpensive books give hou

35、rs of pleasurable reading with broadened knowledge and stimulated thought. As I have grown older and the number of books on my shelves has increased, I appreciate editions which do not take much room. When I began reading years ago, I was proud of my small collection of two or three hundred books. B

36、y the time I owned a thousand, my little study held all it could. Now, in my late years, I must squeeze books into a city apartment. By careful and continuous selection I keep my library clown to ten thousand books. This would be, of course, too large a number for any but a professional scholar or w

37、riter. But my advice to a booklover is to weed out his library at least once every two years, giving, away the books which are not likely to be read again. You can start a good library of your own with only a few dollars, buying good books in cheap editions or in finer editions secondhand. Buy at le

38、ast a book a month. But never, never buy a book which you will not immediately read. A library bought only for looks is not literature, but interior decoration.Questions 1115 are based on Passage Three.11. According to the author, it is _. A. important to read critically rather than memorize the fac

39、ts B. useful to underline some important ideas C. beneficial to take notes while reading D. good to leave no marks on pages 12. If you are fond of buying books, it is better to A. buy those you like B. seek those which are popular C. seek some new editions D. buy those which you can afford 13. Which

40、 of the following statements is TRUE according to the author? A. The more books you buy, the faster your library will grow. B. The clearer the index, the more quickly you will find the passage you want. C. The longer you read a book, the more you will benefit from it. D. The more expensive the editi

41、ons are, the more valuable the books are. 14. The first four paragraphs of this passage deal with _. A. why we should take notes while reading B. how we choose a good book to read C. why we should have a book of our own D. how we can read efficiently 15. Why does the author write this passage? A. To

42、 explain how to become a good reader. B. To give advice through his experience. C. To indicate that a private library is also an interior decoration. D. To tell readers that buying cheap books is a good way to start ones library.Passage Four At one time, it was thought that cancer was a “disease of

43、civilization,” belonging to much the same causal domain as “neurasthenia” and diabetes, the former a nervous weakness believed to be brought about by the stress of modem life and the latter a condition produced by bad diet and indolence. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, some physicians at

44、tributed cancer notably of the breast and the ovaries to psychological and behavioral causes. William Buchans wildly popular eighteenthcentury text “Domestic Medicine” judged that cancers might be caused by “excessive fear, grief and religious melancholy.” In the nineteenth century, reference was re

45、peatedly made to a “cancer personality.” As Susan Sontag observed, cancer was considered shameful, not to be mentioned. Among the Romantics and the Victorians, suffering and dying from tuberculosis might be considered a badge of refinement; cancer death was nothing of the sort. “It seems unimaginabl

46、e,” Sontag wrote, “to aestheticize cancer. ” Cancer is “the modem disease” not just because we understand it in radically new ways but also because theres a lot more about cancer. For some cancers, the rise in incidence is clearly connected with things that get into our bodies that once did not the

47、causal link between smoking and lung cancer being the most spectacular example. But the rise in cancer mortality is, in its way, very good news: as we live longer, and as many infectious and epidemic diseases have ceased to be major causes of death, so we become prone to maladies that express themse

48、lves at ages once rarely attained. At the beginning of the twentieth century, life expectancy at birth in America was 47.3 years, and in the middle of the nineteenth century it was less than forty. The median age at diagnosis for breast cancer in the United States is now sixtyone; for prostate cance

49、r it is sixtyseven; for colorectal cancer its seventy. “Cancer has become the price of modern life,” an epidemiologist recently wrote. In the U.S., about half of all men and about a third of women will contract cancer in their lifetime; cancer now ranks just below heart disease as a cause of death i

50、n the U.S. But in lowincome countries with shorter life expectancies it doesnt even make the top ten.Questions 1620 are based on Passage Four.16. What is the first paragraph mainly about? A. Common causes of cancers. B. Treatments for different cancers. C. Traditional bliefs on cancer. D. Peoples at

51、titudes to cancer patients.17. What can we learn about the Victorians from Paragraph 1? A. They believed that some diseases were superior to others. B. They thought that some diseases were unimaginable. C. They attributed some diseases to behavioral causes. D. They held superstitious ideas towards s

52、ome diseases.18. The word “maladies” in Paragraph 2 means _. A. tunes B. illnesses C. serious problems D. advanced ages19. Why are more and more people diagnosed with cancers today? A. People nowadays have more bad habits. B. People nowadays enjoy longer life expectancy. C. People nowadays are expos

53、ed to more sources of stress. D. People nowadays are more vulnerable psychologically.20. “It” in the last sentence refers to _. A. life expectancy B. heart disease C. modernity D. cancerPassage Five Ever since 2003, when Lisa Belkins article in The Times Magazine about highly privileged and highachi

54、eving moms “The OptOut Revolution” was generalized by the news media to claim that mothers overall were choosing to leave the work force, researchers have been revisiting the state of mothers employment and reaching very similar conclusions. In 2005, the Motherhood Project published a report that sa

55、id most mothers, given free choice, would choose to be employed provided their employment didnt take up too much time. Approximately twothirds said theyd ideally work parttime or from home; only 16 percent said theyd prefer to work fulltime. Sociologist David Cotter looked carefully at four decades

56、of employment data and found that women with choices those with college education were overwhelmingly choosing, to stay in the work force. The only women “opting out” in any significant numbers were the very richest and the very poorest. You might say that the movement of the richest women out of th

57、e work force proves that women will, in the best of all possible worlds, go home. But these women often have husbands who work 70 or 80 hours a week and travel extensively; someone has to be home. They are privileged, its true, but very often they have also been cornered by the allornothing nonchoic

58、es of our workplaces. The alternative narrative of constricted horizons, not choice that might have emerged from recent research has never really made it into the mainstream. It just cant, it seems, find a foothold. “The reason we keep getting this narrative is that there is this deep cultural ambivalence about mothers employment,” said Cotter. “On the one hand, people believe women should have equal opportunities, but on the other hand, we dont envision men taking on